Monthly Archives: October 2020

Sounding the alarm: The impact of COVID-19 on global food security and nutrition
Advocacy / Animal Production / Communications / COVID19 / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Event / Food Security / Food Systems / Markets / Meat / OneHealth

Sounding the alarm: The impact of COVID-19 on global food security and nutrition

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Jimmy Smith, the director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), spoke on 14 Oct, 2020 about how to prepare for and prevent future pandemics at a Committee on World Food Security (CFS) high-level event. The event, held virtually over three days and in lieu of the traditional annual CFS gathering because of the … Continue reading →

A new study gives insights on Napier (elephant) grass, a fast-growing tropical grass
Agriculture / Feeds / Fodder / Forages / Genetics / Livestock Productivity / LIVESTOCKCRP / Science paper / Species

A new study gives insights on Napier (elephant) grass, a fast-growing tropical grass

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Using a combination of short-read sequencing, single-molecule long-read sequencing and Hi-C chromosome conformation capture technologies scientists were able to assemble a chromosome scale genome of elephant grass and found an abundance of information. Continue reading →

One Health Centre in Africa
Advocacy / Africa / AHH / AMR / Animal Health / Emerging Diseases / Event / Food Safety / Human Health / OHRECA / OneHealth / Wildlife / Zoonotic Diseases

One Health Centre in Africa

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The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has established a One Health Centre in Africa (OHRECA) to enhance the health of people, animals and their shared environment in the continent. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) the centre will develop capacity and support One Health network initiatives across Africa. Continue reading →

International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists: A Mongolian proposal to the UN for 2026
Advocacy / Article / Drylands / Environment / Livestock / Livestock Productivity / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands

International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists: A Mongolian proposal to the UN for 2026

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On 2 Oct 2020, the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), after more than 50 governments and 150 organizations from every continent expressed their support, endorsed the Mongolian Government’s proposal to declare an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026. Continue reading →

Excursions of a biochemical kind: ILRI hosts CUNY–Regeneron ‘power couple’ working to improve the health of African cattle and COVID-19 patients
Animal Breeding / Animal Health / Biotechnology / Communications / COVID19 / Disease Control / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Trypanosomiasis / USA

Excursions of a biochemical kind: ILRI hosts CUNY–Regeneron ‘power couple’ working to improve the health of African cattle and COVID-19 patients

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Jayne Raper, professor in the department of biological sciences at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY) and her husband Neil Stahl, vice president of Regeneron visit ILRI and share thoughts on trypanosomiasis and COVID-19. Continue reading →

Training researchers virtually when supplies can cross borders but people cannot
Agri-Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Goats / ILRI / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Pastoralism / PIL / PPR / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Small Ruminants / West Africa

Training researchers virtually when supplies can cross borders but people cannot

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The Epidemiology and Control of peste des petits ruminants (ECo-PPR) project team designed 5-10-minute videos for 10 tools with built in activities and resources to support the training of veterinarians, socio-economists and lab technicians in West Africa and East Africa. Continue reading →

International Livestock Research Institute becomes Global Landscapes Forum charter member
Advocacy / Agriculture / Biodiversity / Climate Change / Communications / Drylands / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Food Security / Project / Rangelands / Zoonotic Diseases

International Livestock Research Institute becomes Global Landscapes Forum charter member

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(BONN, 12 October 2020) – Over half a billion people in developing countries depend to some extent on farm animals for their livelihoods. Animal-sourced food also plays an important role in nutrition, through providing readily-available proteins and micronutrients. But animal agriculture is also implicated in global environmental challenges such as deforestation and climate change—and pressing … Continue reading →

When numbers lie
Advocacy / Agriculture / Biodiversity / Climate Change / Data / Drylands / East Africa / Environment / Film and Video / ILRI / Kapiti / Kenya / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira

When numbers lie

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Tom Dowling led a team that built a land surface temperature validation site at the ILRI Kapiti Research Station in August 2018. He spoke about some of the lessons he’s learned since then with host Simon Clark on Brilliant, a YouTube science channel. Continue reading →

A 1,000-year-old ‘Evolutionary Jolt’ helped African cattle adapt to the continent’s multiple challenges
Africa / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / Breeds / Indigenous Breeds / Launch / Livestock / Livestock Productivity / LIVESTOCKCRP / LivestockGenetics / Pastoralism / Science paper

A 1,000-year-old ‘Evolutionary Jolt’ helped African cattle adapt to the continent’s multiple challenges

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A new study in Nature Genetics retraced 1,000 years of African pastoralist cattle breeding, identifying how cattle acquired the traits that enabled them to spread throughout the continent NAIROBI, Kenya (30 Sep 2020)— Scientists sifting through the DNA of indigenous African cattle breeds announced today the discovery of a thousand-year-old ‘admixture event’ between the world’s … Continue reading →